What do you think about when I say PETA? Animal rights. Celebrities posing naked. Vegetarian and vegan awareness. All great things, right? Sure. Too bad they’re a bunch of reasonless rabblerousers that doesn’t care about a human life.
Charles Wickersham, a 21-year-old guy, was bitten by a shark while fishing with his friends in the San Francisco Bay Area near Anna Maria Island. Sharks. Bite. Near death. Beyond scary. Anyone with a modicum of a soul would hope that Wickersham gets better (he’s still in intensive care right now) and lives a happy life. Those more equipped might help with the hospital bills or raise awareness on how to prevent such animal accidents from happening. A human survived a traumatic shark attack, what a story that is, amiright? That’s normal behaviour for normal people with normal emotions.
PETA is not normal. No. They’re insane.
In response to Wickersham’s accident, those heartless pricks are launching an insensitive ad campaign against all types of fishing. They’re using a man, who almost died, as their soapbox. Their rallying call. Might as well accuse him of being Michael Vick, why don’t you. Their photo, which will be plastered across benches and billboards in the Bay Area, shows a shark chewing on a bloody human “drumstick” (leg) with the tagline: “Payback is Hell. Go Vegan.”
PETA’s campaign director Ashley Byrne said:
“We are very glad that Mr. Wickersham is going to be ok, but we do hope that this painful and frightening experience makes him think about the pain and fear that he’s causing to fish — and other fisherman are causing to fish.”
Yes. Because everyone who fishes deserves to be bitten by a shark. And because if Ms Byrne was enjoying the ocean one day, a shark would avoid her because it would know that she thinks about the pain and fear she causes to fish.
I understand that PETA’s shock and awe campaigns are meant to get people on both sides riled up. They want to spark discussion and raise awareness. And hey, I guess it’s working, I am writing about it aren’t I? But when we’re talking about using a human life as a sacrifice to jumpstart a campaign that belittles his accident? That’s the line.
Look, there needs to be an organisation that cares about animals. At the top of the food chain with a heart for compassion and the ability to affect, us humans should bear their responsibility — they can’t speak for themselves, we need to protect nature. Yes and yes. I couldn’t be happier to support such a thing!
PETA, next time, please remember where you came from. Or I’ll have to start PAETPETA, People Against the Ethical Treatment of People for the Ethical Treatment of Animals.